Observation/Reflection #2: Eyes in the Back of Your Head: Observing Student Actions
From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
Barrington Middle School
Mr. Borgueta
General Science Grade 7
Observation:
As soon as students enter Mr. Borgueta’s classroom they understand what the expectations and classroom norms are. They walk in, get settled and start their 3-2-1 assignment, which is usually a question or two to get the students oriented to the topic. Throughout this time there may be a little movement and a little noise. However, for the most part all students are focused with their heads down and a pencil in hand writing. If any of the students are struggling to follow the classroom norm, Mr. Borgueta quickly redirects them to the task. After about 5 to 7 minutes he discusses the 3-2-1 assignment. He asked questions for students to answer and more than 50% of the class raised their hands to participate. Once this concluded, he had students work in groups of four to design a slingshot experiment. As students were busy working on the lab he called them up individually to provide them with feedback from a previous assignment. Once the last student’s paper was handed out I observed Mr. Borgueta walking around the classroom to each table to read what student’s were writing in their notebooks and to correct any mistake he saw. The pattern below is approximately the type of paths he can take to check student’s work. Although the arrows point in one direction, Mr. Borgeuta could be found moving around either way up and down the aisles.
Reflection:
For Mr. Borgueta’s classroom not many strategies besides a quick reminder of the task is necessary to keep students on track. This is because from day 1 he has set up a classroom norm that while in his class students are going to work hard. By managing the class in this way from day 1 a culture has been made where students expect to work in his class and are okay with this. However, this is not just an all work no play type of classroom. If students work hard Mr. Borgueta will give them some time off at the end to get ready for their next class or to chat with each other. Additionally, the more work students can accomplish through the written part of the lab, the sooner students get to go outside and test their slingshot apparatuses for their experiment. It is the combination of a culture based on hard work mixed with fun activities that Mr. Borgueta engages his students. At no point have I heard “man this stinks” or “why do we have to do this.” Even though Mr. Borgueta isn’t dressing up for his students, they still get their work done and have fun. I find that student engagement is key to teaching. Without engagement students will not pay attention and if this occurs then they are not learning. Therefore, I hope to manage my classroom in a similar way with this combination of a culture and engaging activities for students to do. For my classroom, I would like to employ many different strategies to encourage student engagement. Having students perform hands on labs, playing different and yet engaging videos, and creating lessons that smoothly transition from one part to the next are just a few strategies. Additionally, I could possibly bring in outside resources, (scientists or those in a similar field to my topic) as well as go on field trips to make those real world connections. By moving around the room and making sure all students are understanding the material presented is how I will use my proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior. Essentially, I would like to make my classroom a student oriented classroom where students know I want them to succeed.
From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
Barrington Middle School
Mr. Borgueta
General Science Grade 7
Observation:
As soon as students enter Mr. Borgueta’s classroom they understand what the expectations and classroom norms are. They walk in, get settled and start their 3-2-1 assignment, which is usually a question or two to get the students oriented to the topic. Throughout this time there may be a little movement and a little noise. However, for the most part all students are focused with their heads down and a pencil in hand writing. If any of the students are struggling to follow the classroom norm, Mr. Borgueta quickly redirects them to the task. After about 5 to 7 minutes he discusses the 3-2-1 assignment. He asked questions for students to answer and more than 50% of the class raised their hands to participate. Once this concluded, he had students work in groups of four to design a slingshot experiment. As students were busy working on the lab he called them up individually to provide them with feedback from a previous assignment. Once the last student’s paper was handed out I observed Mr. Borgueta walking around the classroom to each table to read what student’s were writing in their notebooks and to correct any mistake he saw. The pattern below is approximately the type of paths he can take to check student’s work. Although the arrows point in one direction, Mr. Borgeuta could be found moving around either way up and down the aisles.
Reflection:
For Mr. Borgueta’s classroom not many strategies besides a quick reminder of the task is necessary to keep students on track. This is because from day 1 he has set up a classroom norm that while in his class students are going to work hard. By managing the class in this way from day 1 a culture has been made where students expect to work in his class and are okay with this. However, this is not just an all work no play type of classroom. If students work hard Mr. Borgueta will give them some time off at the end to get ready for their next class or to chat with each other. Additionally, the more work students can accomplish through the written part of the lab, the sooner students get to go outside and test their slingshot apparatuses for their experiment. It is the combination of a culture based on hard work mixed with fun activities that Mr. Borgueta engages his students. At no point have I heard “man this stinks” or “why do we have to do this.” Even though Mr. Borgueta isn’t dressing up for his students, they still get their work done and have fun. I find that student engagement is key to teaching. Without engagement students will not pay attention and if this occurs then they are not learning. Therefore, I hope to manage my classroom in a similar way with this combination of a culture and engaging activities for students to do. For my classroom, I would like to employ many different strategies to encourage student engagement. Having students perform hands on labs, playing different and yet engaging videos, and creating lessons that smoothly transition from one part to the next are just a few strategies. Additionally, I could possibly bring in outside resources, (scientists or those in a similar field to my topic) as well as go on field trips to make those real world connections. By moving around the room and making sure all students are understanding the material presented is how I will use my proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior. Essentially, I would like to make my classroom a student oriented classroom where students know I want them to succeed.